Mexican State Arrests Two for Drunk-Tweeting Rumors

The rumors of attacks by the Zetas drug cartel prompted parents to rush to schools looking for their children in the state's biggest city.
(2009 Getty Images)

If tweeting threats were illegal in the States, all those Beliebers would be in trouble.

In the Mexican state of Veracruz, chaos came on Thursday after a raft of tweeted-out rumors spread panic about purported shootouts and other drug violence. Authorities detained two men and said they planned to file terrorism charges against them.

The rumors of attacks by the Zetas drug cartel prompted parents to rush to schools looking for their children in the state's biggest city, also known as Veracruz, and in the neighboring city of Boca del Rio. The panic snarled streets with chaotic traffic.

The tweets warned of attacks on banks and schools, adding the threat: "For each Zeta killed a child will die."

Attorney General Reynaldo Escobar Perez said the two men were being questioned to determine if more people were behind the messages.

Escobar said that if found guilty, the two men would face three to nine years in prison. He said the men were under the influence of drugs and alcohol when they were detained. (Go figure.)

Veracruz state law defines terrorism as "any person using explosives, toxic substances, firearms, fire, flood or any other means to carry out attacks on persons, things or public services, in such a way that creates alarm, fear or terror in the public or any sector of it, so as to disturb the public peace or disparage the authority of the government or pressure it."

Veracruz is one of several states in eastern Mexico where the Gulf and Zetas drug cartels are fighting for control.

The attorney general urged people not to let themselves be panicked by rumors.

"I beg that (citizens) also listen to the government, which is responsible for the tranquility of the people of Veracruz," Escobar said. "We all have to weigh the information and not just trust it."